Some recent input on the economy and financial crisis. Johan Norberg of the CATO Institute suggests that there may be too much regulation, now, which orevents progress and could end up worse in the future.

"Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell -- it loses its ability to motivate humans to be prudent or respect their fears.

There is a broad concensus that the way was paved for this financial crisis by record-low interest rates, huge deficits and large scale credit-financial consumption. Today, governments around the world are trying to solve the crisis -- by means of low interest rates, huge deficits and large-scale credit-financed consumption." Johan Norberg, writer of "Financial Fiasco: How America's Infatuations with Homeownership and Easy Money Created the Economic Crisis"."Politicians are masters of the flim-flam art of taking credit for achievements they are utterly not responsible for -- and denying responsibility for all the disasters and failures they help create." Terence Corcoran, Editor, Financial Post Magazine.

Last edited by Edmund Onward James on Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:47 pm; edited 1 time in total

"Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell -- it loses its ability to motivate humans to be prudent or respect their fears.

I don't see the parallel. Claiming bankruptcy gets you out of all your mistakes, you're forced to liquidate, but you do get a fresh start.

Hell would be the absence of the bankrupty process, where all your bad choices (defaults on debt/contracts) would stick with you forever and you had a (near) impossible time climbing out of the hole you dug for yourself.

"Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell -- it loses its ability to motivate humans to be prudent or respect their fears.

I don't see the parallel. Claiming bankruptcy gets you out of all your mistakes, you're forced to liquidate, but you do get a fresh start.

Hell would be the absence of the bankrupty process, where all your bad choices (defaults on debt/contracts) would stick with you forever and you had a (near) impossible time climbing out of the hole you dug for yourself.

I thinking he's getting at the literal meaning of bankruptcy (having nothing left) as opposed to legal bankruptcy.

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